Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra

Deputy Director, ARC Centre for Forest Value

Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstra is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural Sciences and has conducted research since 2000 on plant-herbivore interactions in native and production forests. With experience mainly in plant defences against browsing by mammalian herbivores, her research has examined genetic-based variation in herbivory and plant secondary defences, the evolution of plant defences to herbivores, community and ecosystem genetics, and impacts of abiotic factors on plant resistance. Julianne is also the Deputy Director of the ARC Centre for Forest Value, after returning to a substantive academic research position from five years in administrative leadership positions in the University Research Division.

Biography

After completing her PhD in 2004, Julianne was successful in obtaining an ARC Linkage grant and Postdoctoral Fellowship titled “Selection and Deployment of Browsing Resistant Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Nitens”. During this time Julianne also travelled to the James Hutton Institute in Scotland to complete two short-term research fellowships on Scots Pine defences to herbivory by the extremely ferocious Large Black Slug and doe-eyed Red Deer.

From 2004 until 2012, Julianne was sub-project leader of vertebrate browsing research in two forestry Cooperative Research Centres (CRC); The CRC for Temperate Hardwood Forestry and The CRC for Sustainable Production Forestry and taught first year undergraduate Ecology and third year Plant Ecology. In 2013, Julianne was promoted to Senior Lecturer and Education Manager of the National Centre for Future Forest Industries.

In 2014, Julianne changed direction in her career by being appointed Deputy Director, Researcher Development in the Research Division at the University of Tasmania. During the five-year period Julianne was in the Research Division she moved across portfolios in various leadership roles to successfully lead and manage high performance administrative research support teams, provide oversight of the ARC and NHMRC schemes and provide strategic and operational oversight of the Graduate Research Office and University Researcher Development. During this time Julianne maintained a fractional 20% academic research role to continue her research and supervision of research candidates.

In February 2019, Julianne returned to a substantive academic role. To date, Julianne has successfully secured 27 grants (including 8 ARC grants as Chief Investigator) valued at over $3.5 million and has published 53 outputs.

Qualifications:

PhD, Plant resistance of Eucalyptus globulus to marsupial herbivores, University of Tasmania, 2004

From Genes to Ecosystems: Are there Biodiversity and Ecosystem Consequences of Genetic Divergence in Eucalyptus? (2012 - 2014)$220,000

Description

This project uses Eucalyptus globulus to examine links between genes, communities and ecosystem processes. It aims to determine if genetic effects cascade through the ecosystem, the traits underlying the effects and whether these can be linked to major genes. It assesses how the extended effects of genetic variation may drive population level genetic divergence, thus linking ecological interactions with evolutionary dynamics across levels of organization. These questions have important implications now recognised as a frontier in ecology, evolutionary biology and restoration science. E. globulus is the most important hardwood plantation species in temperate regions of the world and is a model for investigating community and ecosystem genetics.

Funding

Australian Research Council ($220,000)

Scheme

Grant-Discovery Projects

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

O'Reilly-Wapstra JM; Bailey J; Schweitzer J

Period

2012 - 2014

Grant Reference

DP120102889

Providing a genetic framework to enhance the success and benefits from forest restoration and carbon plantings in rural landscapes (2012 - 2015)$680,000

Description

This project provides a genetic framework to guide forest restoration and carbon plantings in Australia and inform strategies for climate change adaptation. A network of genetic trials, integrated into large-scale environmental tree plantings will be used to study the genetic diversity and adaptive potential of native tree species. Using planted seedlings and direct sowing trials of two eucalypt species the project assesses the effect of multiple scales of tree genetic diversity (species, provenance, families) on performance across different sites, species mixtures and levels of structural complexity. It also assesses local versus non-local seed sources and the role of tree genetics in shaping dependent biodiversity and other ecosystem services.